Sons & Daughters Ups the Ante, Lowers Seat Count, à la Saison

The Sons & Daughters team of Teague Moriarty and Matt McNamara are raising the stakes and upping the ante, ambition-wise, at their well received, Michelin-starred restaurant on Lower Nob Hill. Much like Saison did last year in pursuit of a third Michelin star, Sons & Daughters is adopting a similarly upscale model of fewer seats, more courses, and having chefs deliver some plates to diners — something that Saison chef Josh Skenes was inspired to do by Alain Ducasse in an effort at greater quality and higher luxury quotient. As of October 28, they tell the Scoop, they’ll be bringing the max seat count down from 32 to 20, and begin adding courses to the already nine-course tasting menu. They only recently added a course and bumped up the price of the standard menu to $98, and that price will go up to $135, with gratuity now included. And unlike Saison, they’re going to start serving seven nights a week. Clearly, though, they have a second Michelin star and more accolades in their sights.

Moriarty tells Grub Street, “We’ve been wanting to make this move for a while. We want the people most passionate and involved with the food more involved with showing that passion to our guests. And we’ve hired two new garden people and more kitchen people as well to be able to source more from the garden as well as change our style of service.” And, he adds, “While earning our Michelin star last year was a huge honor, the reason for these decisions is that we feel it will make is a better restaurant with a better experience for our guest.”